Commentary on ‘Ethics of Smoking in Restaurants’

I’m from the Washington, D.C. area, and smoking has been banned in restaurants for a couple of years now. To be honest with you, I’ve seen more people out at restaurants with their families. From a sales perspective, restaurants have actually increased sales due to the smoking ban because more families feel they can take their young children out and not have to worry about smoke exposure.

Personally, I believe that because smokers have made that decision to smoke, and potentially cause harm to their bodies, that they should not potentially cause harm to the bodies of others who did not make that same choice. Why should non-smokers have to boycott their favorite restaurants because they enjoy having healthy lungs? Smokers are well aware they are not only harming themselves, but the innocent people around them, since they don’t care, why not ask them to step outside when they want a cigarette? Since you say it should be a choice whether or not to avoid smoke by not going to certain restaurants, then why not allow smoking everywhere including public places such as malls and movie theaters? They don’t allow it, because it should not be a choice.

If you chose to smoke, you can smoke outside no one is stopping you. What they are trying to stop is the loss of lives from second hand effects of smoking, the innocent people who chose NOT to put themselves at risk. If you do chose to put yourself at risk and smoke, do it on your own watch, not on the watch of everyone else who does not.

Talk to the families who have lost loved ones because of second-hand smoke. They might disagree with you slightly. A non-smoker should not have to worry about where they can and can not go and what they can and can not do, because they chose to do what’s in the best interest for themselves and their community.

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I somewhat agree with you on your post, but I am torn because I am from the south where tobacco has been a big farming industry for many years. I am a non-smoker and prefer to enjoy restaurants smoke free. The biggest concern for me is the freedom taken from individuals who smoke. It is their free choice to smoke and banning it in restaurants feels like one step closer to the government telling me what I can and can’t do with my “free choices”. As someone who greatly feels that our personal choices are becoming less and less, I don’t feel that we as a society should keep allowing the government to censor more and more of our freedoms.

I am also from the south and grew up on a relativly large farm. Although my family has grown tobacco in the past (I believe we havent since the middle 1990’s), we quit farming tobacco becasuse it was not as profitable as other crops. My granddad has never smoked and can not stand people arround him that smoke including in resturants. That comes from a man that made his living at one time off of tobacco.

That being said, If he doesnt care to be arround the stuff he once grew, why should i are anyone else want breathe in second hand smoke. I thoughly enjoy going into resurants and not smelling the stuff. I do not like many things the governments does but the government baning smoking in resturants is something that i will not object to.

I do not think i should have to give up my civil liberties to not infringe upon someone elses.